U-Haul: Cookeville a "top growth city" (Knoxville, Clarksville: real estate market, how much)

[JMT]

From U-Haul:

If you’re of the opinion Tennessee is a fun place to visit and would be a beautiful spot to live, take a number and get in line. U-Haul® customers are well ahead of you.

The Volunteer State posted the largest net gain of U-Haul trucks crossing its borders in 2020, making it the No. 1 U-Haul growth state for the first time.

East and Central Tennessee are enjoying the biggest gains in U-Haul arrivals. The top growth cities include Knoxville, the Tri-Cities, Cookeville, Clarksville, Cleveland, Murfreesboro and Maryville.

So if you've seen more U-Haul trucks and vans around town lately, you weren't just dreaming.

https://myuhaulstory.com/2021/01/04/...h-states-2020/

[yellowcat123]

We bought our first home last year and many more homes have been built in our neighborhood since we moved in. It seems like they don’t stay on the market any longer than 60 days then shortly after a UHaul truck comes driving around. Exciting stuff!

Ive heard from multiple people though that COVID has caused the cost of building homes to rise quite a bit, so I wonder if we will start to see a slowdown or if people moving here from HCoL areas wont be effected as much from that and make up for it?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by yellowcat123

We bought our first home last year and many more homes have been built in our neighborhood since we moved in. It seems like they don’t stay on the market any longer than 60 days then shortly after a UHaul truck comes driving around. Exciting stuff!

Ive heard from multiple people though that COVID has caused the cost of building homes to rise quite a bit, so I wonder if we will start to see a slowdown or if people moving here from HCoL areas wont be effected as much from that and make up for it?

Yes this is a national (even international) issue. While interest rates are at record lows, the cost of construction materials has risen pretty dramatically. But that hasn't slowed down the local housing market. New housing starts continue to break records in Cookeville, and the local real estate market isn't showing any signs of slowing down. What goes up must come down, so I'm sure there will be a correction at some point. But as long as people continue to flee the coasts and other places with high COL (including Nashville), it might be a while before there's a slowdown here.

[jguillot]

Interesting article from U-Haul. Not surprising that so many people are leaving California as we did.

[yellowcat123]

Originally Posted by JMT

While interest rates are at record lows, the cost of construction materials has risen pretty dramatically. But that hasn't slowed down the local housing market. New housing starts continue to break records in Cookeville, and the local real estate market isn't showing any signs of slowing down.

Read this article recently with information from Mayor Porter that totally validated your statement. I wonder how these numbers would change if it included data from within municipal limits. I feel like there's 3 new constructions alone in my neighborhood. And I've seen 4 more houses get put into the new subdivision between Springboro Rd and McCulley Rd.

https://herald-citizen.com/stories/p...ntinues,46409?

Construction activity does not appear to be slowing down in Putnam County, according to the latest report on building permits.

"December is normally a slow month for construction, but not this year," said County Mayor Randy Porter. "We had 20 new permits for $3.77 million with 16 of those being for new residential homes."

Porter said the December 2020 total was better than it had been the previous two years.

"Last year for the same month, we had 13 permits for $1.5 million," he said. "In 2018, we had 15 permits for $1.44 million."

For the first six months of the fiscal year, the county has issued 197 permits for $26.4 million of construction, with 121 of those being for new, single-family residential homes.

"Residential construction continues to be strong in Putnam County," Porter said, noting that the numbers do not cover construction activities inside the municipalities of Cookeville, Baxter, Algood or Monterey.

The county has collected a total of $116,297 in permit fees so far this year.

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Interesting thread. Just curious-how much are building permits in the county, and do they require an engineering stamp on plans? Some places do, some don't. Also-how is the availability of water on rural property (well)? Are "dry holes" common, and what depth do you typically have to drill to? Thanks!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Toyman at Jewel Lake

Interesting thread. Just curious-how much are building permits in the county, and do they require an engineering stamp on plans? Some places do, some don't. Also-how is the availability of water on rural property (well)? Are "dry holes" common, and what depth do you typically have to drill to? Thanks!

I have a well on my property but don't use it. "City" water is available in most of the county unless you're super remote. There are utility districts that pretty much cover most rural areas that provide water. There's a lot of water around here, so dry holes are very uncommon. My well is only about 50 feet deep, and I'm on top of a little mountain. I have friends just west of Baxter at the bottom of a "holler" who rely on well water, and they have ample. I don't know how deep their well is, but they have several streams on their property, a couple of waterfalls, and they created a swimming pool with the water that flows from their well. They've lived there for 30 years and have never been without plenty of water.

Having said that, there are some homes without access to public water lines. A couple of years ago the county mayor said there were 700 homes in the county (out of 36,000) without access to public water. Some of those, like my friends above, prefer being on well water. Others probably do have the occasional issue with dry wells when we have long periods of drought (which are very rare).

Putnam County does require building permits and inspection. The fees depend on the value of the structure you're building. There's no fee if it's less than $1000. More info can be found here:

https://putnamcountytn.gov/sites/def...e_schedule.pdf

There's very light zoning in the county, meaning you can almost build whatever you want on your property. I think the only things you can't build are recycling centers, rendering plants, and quarries. Otherwise, the county does follow the International Code Council on building standards. So if you want to put up a tar paper shack, you're out of luck. But if you build a house and then decide to operate a car repair service out of your garage, you're free to do so without seeking permission from the county, as long as your buildings are up to code.

Here's the website of the county codes department which should answer most of your questions:

https://putnamcountytn.gov/building-codes

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

I had no idea that "city" water would be so available in rural areas. Where I live now, anyone outside of a urban or at least well developed area is on a private well. My current well is 400 foot, there are plenty deeper, and plenty of dry holes. Always a major fear when buying rural property. Glad to hear water isn't much of a concern.

Also good to see that building permits are fairly reasonable. Out here we have a "site disturbance permit" for the structure, when I built it was only $75. But electrical and plumbing are a state permit, that was a few hundred, plus septic.

Originally Posted by JMT

I have a well on my property but don't use it. "City" water is available in most of the county unless you're super remote. There are utility districts that pretty much cover most rural areas that provide water. There's a lot of water around here, so dry holes are very uncommon. My well is only about 50 feet deep, and I'm on top of a little mountain. I have friends just west of Baxter at the bottom of a "holler" who rely on well water, and they have ample. I don't know how deep their well is, but they have several streams on their property, a couple of waterfalls, and they created a swimming pool with the water that flows from their well. They've lived there for 30 years and have never been without plenty of water.

Having said that, there are some homes without access to public water lines. A couple of years ago the county mayor said there were 700 homes in the county (out of 36,000) without access to public water. Some of those, like my friends above, prefer being on well water. Others probably do have the occasional issue with dry wells when we have long periods of drought (which are very rare).

Putnam County does require building permits and inspection. The fees depend on the value of the structure you're building. There's no fee if it's less than $1000. More info can be found here:

https://putnamcountytn.gov/sites/def...e_schedule.pdf

There's very light zoning in the county, meaning you can almost build whatever you want on your property. I think the only things you can't build are recycling centers, rendering plants, and quarries. Otherwise, the county does follow the International Code Council on building standards. So if you want to put up a tar paper shack, you're out of luck. But if you build a house and then decide to operate a car repair service out of your garage, you're free to do so without seeking permission from the county, as long as your buildings are up to code.

Here's the website of the county codes department which should answer most of your questions:

https://putnamcountytn.gov/building-codes

[ninetynine]

I was surprised when I wrote my last check to my builder that there was no transfer tax. Built a home in PA in the past & that was a big bill by itself, something like 4 or 6%... I did own the land at the time of the build here. Not sure if that was the difference maker or maybe they just have no RE transfer tax here.

[shinestx]

Tennessee is one of the states most endowed with water to all corners. Droughts do occur, but they're not frequent and last for a short time. For all the complaints of humidity I read on this board, Tennessee's topography is perfect for retaining water to get us through the few droughts we experience. We get plenty of rain, rivers and aquifers in the limestone bedrock. Water is very plentiful in the Volunteer state. Georgia, on the other hand, where red clay reigns and with virtually no inland navigable rivers, now that's another matter completely.